MLB Free Agency: Who is the Best Non-Kimbrel Reliever on the Market?
Most everyone knows the top reliever available in MLB free agency this offseason, but who is the best available outside of Craig Kimbrel?
Every year, the MLB free agency reliever market is extremely busy. Teams want to get the shutdown closer or the dominant set-up man. With 2019 being one of, if not the most hyped free agent class we have ever seen, you will want to keep an eye on a very interesting market.
Recently, we have seen relievers get paid more than they usually do. In the 2016-2017 offseason, we saw the three biggest reliever contracts of all time handed out. Mark Melancon, Aroldis Chapman, and Kenley Jansen all got paid, with Chapman and Jansen both getting over $80 million.
Craig Kimbrel is going to be no different than those three when it comes to his contract. Although he did struggle some in the playoffs, he is still a force. In 2018, he posted a 13.9 K/9, along with 2.74 ERA and 42 saves.
It’s possible that teams would be spooked out of giving Kimbrel a big contract with what happened with Melancon, and to a lesser extent, Chapman.
Melancon was below league average in his first year with the Giants, posting a 96 ERA+ and a 4.50 ERA in 32 games. His season ended early after getting hurt, and when he returned in 2018, he was much better, though he still wasn’t what the Giants had paid for, putting up a 121 ERA+ and 3.32 ERA.
Chapman, who currently owns the highest contract for a relief pitcher, didn’t live up to the billing in 2017. He posted his second-worst ERA in his career, 3.22, and his worst K/9 at 12.3. Although he bounced back in 2018, he wasn’t quite what the Yankees had paid for.
Of course, none of the relievers aside from Kimbrel are quite the caliber that Melancon, Jansen or Chapman are, but recent history might hold teams back from giving out those big contracts.
That’s why the lower level relievers on the market will likely be signed faster. Although they aren’t as good as Kimbrel, they might be the best bang for every teams buck with such a loaded free agent class everywhere else.
Adam Ottavino
Adam Ottavino enjoyed his breakout season in 2018 just in time for his free agency. He’s always had a good arsenal, but his slider was on full display as one of the best pitches in baseball in 2018. In 77.2 innings, Ottavino had a 2.43 ERA, 13.0 K/9, and a 0.991 WHIP.
He wasn’t the closer, that was Wade Davis‘ job, but he did rack up six saves over the course of the season. It’s possible a team could look at him for the closer role next season. Though, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Yankees have interest in Ottavino, so he clearly wouldn’t be the closer there.
The 33-year-old may not be too expensive, either. MLB Trade Rumors is projecting Ottavino to earn a three year contract, worth $30 million. Because 2018 was the first truly dominant season of Ottavino’s career, teams might not want to bank on the fact that he hasn’t had a career like that.
Despite that fact, Ottavino has the stuff to become that next best reliever on the market, and he might be a better option than Kimbrel if teams want to spend elsewhere.
Jeurys Familia
From 2014 to 2016, Jeurys Familia was a dominant reliever for the New York Mets, and the teams closer for the last two.
Over those three seasons, the right-hander posted a 2.20 ERA, a 9.4 K/9 and 99 saves. He pitched in 29 games for the Mets in 2018, saving 17 games, and was then traded to the Oakland A’s.
In Oakland he was no longer the closer, All-Star Blake Treinen had that locked up. HIs 11.5 K/9 in 31.1 innings with the A’s was the highest of his career, though his ERA was 3.45.
MLB Trade Rumors has Familia getting a three year, $33 million contract. Familia is a proven commodity at closer, putting up pretty dominant numbers in his three year peak with the Mets, including a year where he lead baseball in saves with 51.
Because of this, he might earn a bigger contract than Ottavino because he has done it longer than Ottavino has, despite Ottavino’s strikeout numbers being better.
He will be 29 all of next season, making him one of the younger relievers on the market, which could raise his value as well.
David Robertson
David Robertson has already earned a big contract once in his career, signing a four year, $46 million deal with the Chicago White Sox.
Robertson has shown in his career that he can be very good. In the final four seasons of his first stint with the Yankees, his strikeout numbers were fantastic, a 12.3 K/9, as well as a 2.20 ERA. After he left for the White Sox, he wasn’t quite as dominant. He was good in his first season, saving 34 games and striking out 12.2 per nine and a 0.932 WHIP, but his ERA was worse than his peripherals, sitting at 3.41.
In his last full season with the White Sox, his ERA stayed pretty much the same, but his strikeout numbers went down, and his WHIP rose.
In 2017, he was traded back to the Yankees and was very good, but regressed slightly in 2018 in a full season with the Yanks.
MLB Trade Rumors has projected Robertson’s contract to be three years, $33 million. He’s had success in both a closer role and as a dominant setup man, even working in multiple innings with his fastball/curve combination, and he could cash in on one more big payday this offseason.
Zach Britton
We are two seasons removed from Zach Britton being the best reliever in baseball and having one of the most dominant seasons ever.
In 2016, Britton led the American League in saves with 47, had a 0.54 ERA and a 9.9 K/9. It wasn’t just 2016, however. From 2014-2016, Britton had a 1.38 ERA, 120 saves and a 9.3 K/9.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
In 2017, the left-hander struggled and spent time on the DL, and then struggled at the beginning of 2018 until being traded to the Yankees. In New York, Britton’s ERA was 2.88 in 25.0 innings.
His strikeout numbers have been way down over the past two seasons, dropping from 9.9 in 2016 to 7.0 in 2017 and 7.5 in 2018. He’s not the pitcher he was, and he probably never will be again.
With that being said, he hasn’t been bad, and his track record will give him a bigger contract than he probably warrants at this point in his career. MLBTR is projecting the same contract at Robertson and Familia, three years, $33 million.
The 30-year-old was once one of the best relievers in baseball, and if teams believe he can get near that again, he will be a good gamble.
Next. Under-radar FAs that could pay off. dark
These are the relievers in MLB free agency that could be vying for the #2 spot behind Craig Kimbrel in this season’s market. Which would you prefer if you were signing a reliever? Or perhaps even someone not on the list? Comment below!